Hope
by Oh-Sugar-Hon3y-Ic3-T3a
Summary: A Stony fanfic. Pepper realizes that Tony has fallen in love with Steve, though Tony seems unperturbed and unknowing to this fact. She breaks up with Tony, knowing he wasn't really hers anymore. What will happen once Steve is told that Tony's in love with him?
1. Chapter 1

Peppers POV

Ever since New York, Tony had been different. Tony didn't seem to realize it, but I did. It hadn't really been a really dramatic change, but it was still noticeable, even Rhodey had noticed. Whenever someone brought it up Tony blushed-which was insane to begin with because I had known him for ten years and had never seen him blush once-and then he denied it and changed the subject quickly. No matter how much I wanted it not to be true, I knew what it was.

Tony had fallen in love with Steve Rogers, Captain America, The First Avenger.

It would seem to be an utterly ridiculous assumption, if you hadn't been around Tony since New York and luckily, not many people had.

Unfortunately, Tony hasn't realized this. He still thought he was for the most part straight and liked me, but it was obvious to everyone except for Tony himself that he wasn't. He obviously had his eyes on Steve and Steve alone. At first, I thought it was just one if those awkward man crush things Tony occasionally got around people he admired because as much as I'd like to say it was untrue, I still like Tony.

I knew it would only be bad for Tony and even worse for me if Tony and I were to stay together like this, so I decided to break it off before anyone got more hurt than anyone already had.

Tony's POV

I will my eyes to stay open as I put the finishing touches to the upgrades in my suit. I check the clock, half past ten, I had only been awake for the better part of three days, so I didn't know why my eyes were already getting droopy. I shrug, oh well, I guess it doesn't really matter. Just as I begin to start welding again, I hear the familiar click-clack of Pepper's heels. I set down my welder, slightly irritated with her for interrupting my work. Wait, why would I be irritated? I never used to be irritated with her for interrupting me, not since I had developed feelings for her. What was going on? I'm too tired to think about deep self-reflecting questions, so I just shrug it off and look up to where Pepper was standing.

She doesn't start a conversation, but rather just stands there with her mouth slightly open as if she was trying to say something. That wasn't usually Pepper's style though, usually she got through what she had say or do and left. "Did you need something?" I ask her a little snappy.

"Tony...," Pepper trails, nervously. Pepper was nervous? I didn't even know she had the word nervous in her vocabulary, let alone was able to be nervous. "I-I think we need to break up."

I drop the welder onto the table. "What? Did I do something wrong? I'm really sorry I can fix it if I did, but you don't have to break up with me!" I say calmly, though a bit surprised. All I had to do was reason with her and everything would be okay.

"No Tony, this isn't something you can fix. You've changed, since New York, and I'm not saying for the worse, you've just changed," Pepper replies slowly.

I'm in shock, really, I am. I don't even know what to say, and that's a shock all in itself because I never don't know what to say. "Uh," yeah, there we go, that's a great way to start, idiot. "Why?"

Pepper sighs, "Look, Tony, I can't tell you because you need to figure it out on your own."

"What do you mean you can't tell me? I swear to gods P-" I was cut off by Pepper.

"No, stop it. I'm not going to tell you, so skip the tantrum, okay? I know you'll figure it out," Pepper starts to walk out of the lab, and on her way out she finishes with a, "That will be all, Mr. Stark," and she's gone.

I'm not going to lie, I really wasn't as upset as I should have been. I expected that I would get angry, get piss drunk, and get a massive hangover, but all I really wanted to do was call Steve to come down here for some reason. I sat back in my chair, why did I always want Steve around me now? Ever since New York, all I had wanted was Steve around me, with me, talking to me, I was good as long as he was near me. I shook my head, it was just the sleep deprivation talking, I didn't really mean that.

After a few minutes of just standing around, just trying to figure out why Pepper would do something like that, I decided I was done in the lab today. I put up my tools, turn out the lights, and went up the stairs in search for a certain Super Soldier.

I find him sitting on the balcony sketching something. He must not have heard me coming because he nearly jumped out of his skin when I said, "Hey."

He recovers quickly and looks up from his sketchbook at me, "Hey. Did you finally decide to leave your lab? You've only been down there for three days," he looks back down at his sketchbook and starts sketching again.

I knew that Steve hated it when I stayed down there for days at a time, especially because he usually had to either drag me out of there or carry me to my room. "Yeah, well, Pepper kind of broke up with me down there like five minutes ago, so I figured I deserved a break," I answer, trying to make him feel bad for me.

Steve looks up again, looking genuinely surprised with his eyebrows raised and his mouth forming the shape if an "o". "Oh."

I tear my glance from the skyline and look over at him, shocked, "Oh? My girlfriend breaks up with me and all I get from you is an 'oh'?" What is it with the people around here? All I wanted was a little sympathy and a 'It'll be okay'. So what if I wasn't really that upset?

Steve shakes his head at me. "Well, in my defense, you really aren't acting very upset at all."

Well, he was right. I really wasn't, but that's besides the point. "Whatever," I say defensively. "What are you sketching anyway?"

Steve quickly cover his sketchbook and closes it, "Nothing," he replies.

"You know it's not very convincing when you cover it up and hide it like that. What, do you have a bunch of sketches of Natasha or whoever you like in there?" I question, maybe a little more than slightly interested. Okay, fine, I was really interested, leave me alone.

"Maybe," Steve answers, inching farther away from me.

"What? The Captain America has a crush?" I tease him and he blushes all the way to the tips of his ears.

"No, but Steve Rogers might," Steve corrects as he gets up to evade the conversation.

I grab his wrist and pull him back down before he can get to far. "Oh, come on! You've got to tell me!" I beg.

"No, I'm good."

"Please?" I beg again, making a puppy dog face, but it's no match for Steve.

"Nope."

I pout. "At least give me a hint."

Steve squirms a little, but agrees. "Fine," he concedes, "He's um... He's really smart and loves technology," he blushes a shade of red that I've only seen on a tomato.

"Wait, you like guys?" I queried. Today was fucking full of surprises.

"Yeah, why? Does it matter?" Steve asked. I could tell he was a little embarrassed because he was fiddling with the spirals on his sketchbook and shifting his weight between his feet.

"No, not really," I quickly reassure. "It's just kind of... A surprise, I guess. I mean, you're Captain America. I don't think anyone would've guessed."

"Yeah, I guess," Steve says awkwardly.

"Don't get awkward around me after you've already told me. It's not like I'm one to judge, I'm not exactly straight myself," I stated, surprising myself that I said that. In fact, I don't recall deciding-at least not consciously- that I wasn't straight.

Steve gives me a surprised look, "Really?"

"Yep," hell, I might as well go with it, I must have said for a reason, right?

I swear Steve grins, but he turns around too quickly for me to confirm it. "Okay, I'll see you later, Tony."

"Yeah, okay," I mumble back, confused.


	2. Chapter 2

Steve's POV

I turn away from Tony and rush away before he can see my grin. I can't believe that he likes guys. I'd say that I have a chance now, but I don't wanna be cocky about it. Maybe I have a better chance than before considering I literally had no chance before, because I thought he was straight. Which apparently isn't the case now?

When I get to my room, not to long after I left Tony, I carefully set my sketchbook on the bedside table, not wanting to damage any of the pages. I hadn't let Tony look inside at what I was drawing because nearly all of the drawings in there were of him, as were several of my other sketchbooks. I didn't think it would seem very platonic to have, I don't know, fifty or sixty detailed sketches of him in just one of my sketchbooks.

I turn from the table to go and change into my gym clothes, but I am interrupted when I hear my phone ringing loudly to the sound of "Carry On My Wayward Son", which was from when Tony was on a Supernatural kick and changed it to that and I still don't have a clue how to change it back. I check the number and see that it's Pepper, I quickly answer it, worried that something may be wrong because she normally doesn't call me unless it's an emergency.

"Pepper? Hi, is something wrong?" I ask, hoping everything was okay.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Steve, I didn't meant I scare you! I just wanted to talk to you about something," Pepper said nervously.

I sigh, relieved. "Thank god, I'm glad you're okay. What did you want to talk about?" I question, wondering what could possibly have Pepper of all people nervous.

"Well, I don't know if you've heard or not, but Tony and I broke up...," she trails off, seeming a little broken up about it even though she had been the one to break things off.

"Yeah, um, Tony told me a while ago," I say calmly, though I was beginning to get nervous as we breached the subject of Tony. We had talked about Tony plenty before, but it always made me nervous that I would slip up and say something that would make Pepper suspicious of me liking him.

"I figured he had," Pepper says, pausing to mutter something under her breath that sounded a lot like, "damn, he really likes him a lot," but I ignored it, knowing I wasn't meant to hear it and not knowing what it was supposed to mean anyway. "I just wanted you to know why I had broken up with him," Pepper continues, Though when she doesn't finish her statement I ask, "Which is?"

"Oh, right. It's just that, well, ever since New York, he's been kinda different," when I don't reply, she continues, "And I didn't really understand why at first, but then I realized that he had fallen for someone else," Pepper replies.

"I assume that when you say 'fallen' you mean in love and not like fallen out of the sky," I answer, feeling all the hope I had allowed myself to have diminish. How was I supposed to get him to fall for me if he had already fallen for someone else?

I can almost hear Pepper roll her eyes at me through the phone. "Yes, Steve, as in fall in love."

"Oh, well then, do you know who?" I ask curiously. I really wanted to know who, even though it wasn't me, I wanted Tony to be happy, so I'd help him get together with whoever it was he loved.

"Yeah, I do actually," Pepper said quietly, "It's you."

If I had been drinking water I would have sprayed it everywhere. "What? Me? Are you sure?"

"Now, look, I know you were raised in the forties and everything, but this is the twenty-first century and if you have a problem wi-" I cut Pepper off

"No, dammit, I don't have a problem with it all. It's just that you're giving me hope and I really don't want hope because I can get hurt if I have hope," I admit. I could feel my heart pounding in my chest.

"Steve, what do you mean by 'I'm giving you hope'?" Pepper asks, confused.

I stumble over what to say, until I finally find my words. "It's-I-You see, dammit. Okay, look, I'm kinda in love with Tony, okay? Please don't hurt me!"

"Did Captain America just stutter?" Pepper muses.

"Maybe," I say softly, still not sure if Pepper was mad at me or not. "You don't hate me now, do you?"

I hear Pepper laugh into the phone receiver. "No, Steve, I don't hate you. Hell, I didn't call to tell you that Tony likes you so you could sit on your ass and do nothing about it."

I blush, but smile anyone. "Thank you, Pepper, it means a lot to me that you told me," I tell her, really touched.

"Of course, Steve. Just remember that I don't think he knows he loves you yet so just be careful. I don't want either of you getting hurt," Pepper warns me.

I just smile and say thank you again and we say our good byes. I press the end button and toss my phone onto my bed. I grin to myself, so Tony actually likes me. The thought of it made me grin even wider and suddenly the idea of training at a crucial time like this seemed impossible.

I stand up from where I was laying on my bed and walk to my bedroom door. If I wasn't gonna train, I might as well ask Tony if he wants to watch a movie.

I venture out into the living area and see Tony on the couch, his limbs splayed all over. I smile softly at him. "Hey," I greet as I sit down on what little of the couch Tony wasn't on.

He turns his head to look at me and he grins. "What's up?" He asks happily, "Come back to tell me who's caught your attention?"

I laugh, finding it hilarious that he hasn't realized it was himself. "Maybe, but you have to watch a movie with me first," I say cheekily, knowing he won't say no, he never says no to watching a movie with me.

"Sure, Why not?" Tony answers as expected. "What do you want to watch? I was thinking something Sci-fi, but anything you want is fine."

I blush a little at his last comment but pretend not to be affected. "Sci-fi sounds great actually. I kind of wanted to see Star Wars because I never get what you mean when you reference it," I answer truthfully.

Tony grins at that. "Yes! I love Star Wars! We can definitely watch it, but not the prequels, never the prequels."

I give him a confused look. "What's wrong with the prequels?"

I can tell Tony nearly flipped out when I asked this, but he reigns himself back in. "I'm going the ignore that comment because you don't know any better, but you shall learn, my young padawan," Tony replays with a grin.

I stay silent for a moment. "That was another Star Wars reference, wasn't it?"

"Yup," Tony confirms my suspicions as he pushes play on the remote and plops down beside me, not even bothering to leave any space between us.

I just grin and shake my head.

We both must have been pretty tired because we both call asleep before we're even halfway through the movie.


	3. Chapter 3

Tony's POV

I wake to see that I am cuddled up in Steve's arms. Though my first though should have been 'why the hell am I cuddling with Steve?', it wasn't. No, my first thought was, "God, I love this man." Needless to say I nearly fell of the couch. Honestly, I probably would have if Steve hadn't been holding onto me so tight like I was something important, precious.

I just look at him for a while and that's when it hits me. That wasn't just some crazy, wayward idea that popped up into my head, like a lot of things do. It was true and I had meant it. I loved Steve and holy shit, I had loved Steve for a while, at least since New York and that had been what? Six months, eight? How had I not realized this before? Is this why Pepper had broken up with me?

I gave up asking questions I didn't know the answer to, instead I think of what I should do now. Obviously, I didn't know how Steve felt toward me. Sure, Steve could feel the same way, but he could just as easily not feel the same way. It didn't really mean anything that he was holding me, did it? He could just be a cuddler and not realize he was doing it. It didn't necessarily mean that he liked him. Actually, now that I remembered, hadn't Steve told me that he liked someone? A guy, no less. Suddenly, I felt a burning jealousy inside for whoever had stolen Steve's heart, but I quickly shoved that feeling down. I didn't have much time to dwell on this particular detail because Steve began to stir.

Steve's eyes flickered open just a tad, but closed back quickly. He yawns loudly, making me smile. I had never seen Steve wake up before and now that I had, I had to admit, he was kind of adorable. Steve opened his eyes once again, this time they stayed open, and he smiled at Tony.

"Morning," I say, smiling, I never had been a morning person, but there was something about waking up in Steve's arms that made mornings worthwhile.

I feel Steve's arms tighten around me, whether it was a conscious movement or not, he wasn't sure. "Morning," Steve greets, returning his smile. "Looks like we fell asleep on the movie, I guess we'll have to watch it again some other time," Steve muses. I could tell that Steve was avoiding the eminent question as to why he was holding me. Not that I was complaining or anything, I just wanted to know why.

"Yeah, I didn't even make it halfway through the movie. Slept like a baby, too. I feel like that had something to do with you," I replied in mock innocence.

Steve snorted. "Oh yeah? Why's that?" He asks.

I smirked. "I've always slept better with someone cuddling me," I answer slyly.

Steve blushes. "Yeah, um, sorry about that. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable."

I hold back the urge to laugh. Me? Uncomfortable because Steve was cuddling me? Yeah, right, more like a dream come true. "Oh, don't worry. I didn't mind," I say quickly. I really, really didn't mind. I would love if he cuddled with me every night, but considering the chances of that happening were slim to none, I didn't get my hopes up.

Steve didn't say anything for a moment and then he released me, moving to get up. "I don't know about you, but I'm starving," I hear Steve say with a grin as he walks to the kitchen.

I silently wish that we could have stayed on the couch like that longer, but I know if I had asked if we could, it would seem suspicious, so I shied away from the idea quickly. Instead, I also get up from the couch and follow Steve into the kitchen. When I spot him in the kitchen, I see that he's already starting to fix something. "What are you making?" I ask curiously.

"Pancakes," Steve looks up at me. "Do you want some?"

I think about it for a second and realize I probably hadn't eaten in at least the last twelve hours Whoops. "Yeah, sure, I'd love some."

Steve nods his head and turns back to his pancake batter, stirring it once more. I take a seat at the kitchen table and I take the chance to stare at him openly, as he is distracted. Clint and Natasha come into the kitchen briefly, but say nothing about my staring and just carry on as if it was normal. Huh. Maybe I had unknowingly been staring at Steve. That made me worry for a moment what else I had been doing without realizing it. I shake my head as an attempt to get the idea out of my head. No way was I going around staring at Steve unknowingly. Not that it mattered, either Steve hadn't noticed or chose not to comment on it so I guess it was okay. I shrug my worry away. Whatever I had been doing couldn't be changed now, so I might as well not worry about it.

Now that I had gone through the unimportant business, it was time to get down to the important business. "Hey, Steve, who do you like?" I ask nosily.

Steve doesn't turn around, probably so he doesn't burn the pancakes, but I can tell that he's blushing anyway.

"Why do you ask?" Steve asks unsteadily. Was he really that worried to tell me? How bad could it be? Oh god, what if it was Nick Fury?

Just to be sure I ask. "It's not Nick Fury, is it?"

Steve laughs so hard that I worry that he'll burn himself. In fact he almost does, nearly hitting his hand on the hot stove. "Tony, I do not like Nick, but that was a good joke," Steve tells me grinning.

I blush, a little embarrassed, but I continue anyway. "Well, I wouldn't have to guess such ridiculous people if you would just tell me," I give him my best puppy dog face, but as usual, it fails.

"Not right now, I'm not ready, but I swear I'll tell you soon," Steve said apologetically. Not ready to tell me? Was it really so bad that he had to prepare himself to tell me? I try to think hard about who it possibly be, but nothing comes up. Steve didn't really routinely talk to many people beside me and the rest of team. And even then I couldn't see who Steve would like.

"Okay," I say finally, though a little disappointed.

We fall into a somewhat awkward silence as Steve finishes up the pancakes and sets them down on the table. Huh. Now that I think about Steve said the guy he was crushing on is smart and loves technology. I fell into that category, but then again, so did half of the S.H.I.E.L.D agents that he was friendly with. I'd probably be ultra pissed if he liked one if them because, come on, when it comes to technology, sure S.H.I.E.L.D was more advanced than most people, but I was the best. So he should like me if he was into the nerdy tech type. I'm going to pretend I didn't just call myself a nerd.

Not that I had much time to dwell on the fact because Steve finally decided to break the silence. "What are you thinking about over there?" Steve asks, looking up at me quizzically.

I don't bother explaining myself, I just get straight to the point. "They're not one of those nerdy tech guys from S.H.I.E.L.D, are they?" I say gruffly.

Steve smiles and laughs a little. "No, they aren't. Why, would that bother you, if it was?"

I scoff. "Well, of course it would. I mean, if you're gonna like a nerdy tech guy you mind as well like the best there is," I say, obviously meaning myself.

Steve gives me an amused look. "And who would that be?"

I give him a look that says 'I know that you have to be joking, because you couldn't possibly be that stupid'. "Me, obviously."

Steve is quiet for a second and then says, "And if I did?"

"Then I'd say that you had good taste," I reply smoothly, knowing full well that if he really did like me, I would say and do a hell of a lot more than that.

"Hmm. Interesting," is all I get in response before he whisks away both of our dishes, places them in the sink, and leaves the kitchen before I can even mutter a goodbye in return.

What the hell did he mean by interesting?


	4. Chapter 4

Steve's POV

It had been a few weeks since Tony and Pepper had broken up. It had also been a few weeks since Pepper had told me that Tony was in love with me. At the time that had been a huge surprise, but now that I had had time to reflect on this, I realized that it was blatantly obvious that he did. He flirted with me on an hourly basis, he touched me whenever he had the chance, hell, when I had been knocked out cold in a battle, when I had woken up, he was holding my hand and had yelled at me for a good half hour ("Don't you ever fucking scare me like that again, Steve! You scared the shit out of me, I swear you're trying to give me a heart attack,").

Ever since I had told him I had a crush he had been on my ass about it any and every chance he got. If he saw me even glance twice in anyone's direction there was always a prompt, "That's him there, isn't it," followed by an eye-narrowed glare. If looks could kill, about half the male population of S.H.I.E.L.D would be dead, along with Thor, Clint, and Bruce, even though two-thirds of them weren't even into technology.

We had just gotten back from a mission, where luckily not even Tony had managed to have a death scare. We were all tired and dirty and ready to sleep for a week. Thor left shortly after the battle to visit Jane, seeing as last time, when he didn't visit he was slapped. Clint and Natasha had left to rest and Bruce was currently cooling down and probably trying to find some pants.

Me and Tony on the other hand, had decided to watch a movie, even though we were both incredibly tired.

This time, we decided to watch "The Breakfast Club". Instead of being shy, like last time, and only sitting close together, Tony had quite comfortably slid his arm around my waist and placed his head on my shoulder. I just smiled and pretended that it was nothing out of the ordinary.

Once again, we had ended up falling asleep and somehow had ended up cuddled together, my arms wrapped tightly around Tony and his head buried comfortably in my chest.

When I woke up, the sun had long risen, but Tony was still asleep, snuggled into my chest. I smile to myself and take my chance to be able to stare at him openly. As he sleeps all the lines in his face fade away and he looks peaceful and calm. Not many people know this, but Tony snores. It's not loud, obnoxious snoring, but sort of a soft continuos lull and it was actually kind of cute and it fit him.

Just as I had gotten comfortable with watching him I hear him start to stir. He doesn't open his eyes at first, instead he yawns and mutters something incoherent that may or may not have been just a garble of syllables. He opens his eyes slowly, but doesn't say anything he just smiles at me.

I don't even think about it before I say it, I just blurt it out. "You."

Tony looks up at me in confusion, not sure what I had meant. "What?"

I smile at him lovingly. "You asked me who my crush was, it's you."

Tony doesn't say or do anything for a minute due to the fact that he's still fatigued from sleep. Once his brain catches up with what I said, I see realization dawn on his face. "Oh, Ohhhhh," he says, grinning his eyes widening a bit. He then wasted no time and presses a passionate kiss to my lips.

We break apart after a while and just sort of look at each other for a while, probably grinning like idiots.

"I love you," Tony says after a while, his grin never breaking.

Even though Pepper had told me as much, it's completely different than Tony saying it himself. Tony saying it had just sort of set everything in stone. "I love you, too," I reply grinning.

Tony lets out a breath of relief. "Thank God, cause that would have been really awkward."

I laugh as I pull him in to kiss me. He happily obliges, biting my lower lip to ask for entrance, which I gladly give. He deepens the kiss, his arms wrapping around my neck and rolling us over so that I'm lying on top of him.

We kiss like that for god knows how long and probably would have kept kissing like that if Natasha, Clint, and Bruce hadn't walked in. Bruce opting to stay silent as Clint yells, "Well, it's about time!" And Natasha cat calls.

We both sit up and I blush. "Hey, guys," I say, still a bit embarrassed, though not enough to inch away from Tony. Tony and I, both just sit there awkwardly waiting for them to leave and when they finally do I mutter a, "Finally."

Obviously, Tony had felt the same as I had because in the next few seconds all I hear is a quick, "It's about time," and he's pulling me back down for another make out session. Though, normally I would love to make out with Tony, I thought we should probably talk about this.

"Okay, okay," I say trying to pull away from Tony to start, but I was finding it extremely difficult. "Come on, Tony, we need to talk," I say between his heated kisses.

He pulls away reluctantly and pouts, "Fine."

I roll my eyes playfully at his whining. "Okay, so what are we-Are we dating now?" I ask, not really sure where we went from here. I wasn't exactly the most experienced in the romance department.

I see Tony light up with an idea. "No, not yet," he replies, giving me a goofy smile. He rolls of the couch and onto the floor, getting onto his knees. He takes both of my hands in his own. "Steve Rogers?" He asks.

"Yes?" I answer innocently.

"Would you do me the honor of being my boyfriend?" I look at Tony and even though he's being overly dramatic about it, I know that he means every word.

I lace our fingers together and smile. "I would be much obliged, Tony Stark," I reply cheesily and pull him in for a kiss.


End file.
